Mike Summers - January 2012:
I decided to give Kansas City a try for a quick day-trip. You need to rent a car (they are not cheap - especially with all the add-on taxes) to get around. I took an initial drive to the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, which is about 50 minutes from the airport. Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Kansas . Lawrence has a population of around 82,000. Massachusetts Street is the main street that goes through a nice downtown. There are plenty of places to eat, (Lawrence Restaurants Website: http://www.visitlawrence.com/dining )
along Massachusetts, but I sampled the 23rd Street Brewery (Website: http://www.brew23.com/ ), which had a nice wheat beer, and a solid selection of pub fare. The campus is on the western side of Lawrence (Interactive map: http://www.maps.ku.edu/ ). The Student Union has a nice bookstore with university apparel. From Lawrence I headed back to Kansas City, MO along Interstate 70. Here's two websites for things to do: http://www.visitkc.com/index.aspx and http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g44535-Activities-c5-Kansas_City_Missouri.html in Kansas City. I decided on this day-trip to visit Boulevard Brewing Company and sample an adult beverage (Website: http://www.boulevard.com/wp-content/themes/boulevard960/ageverify.php?r=http://www.boulevard.com ). If you want a tour they are only conducted on Wednesday through Saturday. Kansas City is famous for its fountains, its museums, and its BBQ. I didn't check out any of these, but the two websites above for things to do also list a variety of BBQ eateries (and others), museums, and locations for fountains. All-in all, it was a nice day trip. The flight is only an hour and a half. The airport is nice. Each airline has their own security entrance and there is a common bus for all rental car companies. Frontier is in the C Terminal.
Enjoy!
Mike Summers Maryann Hesemann - April 2012:
We just did a girls' trip to Kansas City for 2 nights. We did not rent a car, but rather used the Super Shuttle to get to our hotel located near Country Club Plaza. We paid $39 each way for the 3 of us (total).
The Plaza is one of the oldest shopping centers in the country. It is a beautiful outdoor shopping area, full of mid to high end shopping and lots of great restaurants and fountains galore. Kansas City has more fountains than any city in the world except Rome. Just a couple of blocks north of the Plaza is the Wesport area. This is primarily night life, but also rather charming. Lots of sports bars and young people ( my stomping ground from my early 20's). We also hit Crown Center and the newly renovated Power and Light District. Crown Center has the world headquarters for Hallmark Cards. It has a lot for kids. They just opened a new aquarium this spring and there is a Lego Land Discovery Zone, several theaters, both live and film, geared toward families. There are also a lot of great restaurant choices, several that are really for kids. Crayola has one where the kids can draw while they wait for their food. There is also a railroad themed restaurant that kids would love. Just a block from Crown Center is Union Station. With kids, you could almost spend an entire day here. It is still an active rail terminal, but it also houses theaters, restaurants, the Science Center, a railroad experience, shopping and restaurants. The architecture is beautiful. They are currently hosting a traveling Titanic exhibit.
The Power and Light District is sort of an up and coming mini-LoDo. Mostly bars. Since we were 3 middle aged ladies, we were there early, before things got hopping. We walked from Crown Center to the Power and Light, about a mile. We took a taxi back to our hotel..
Restaurant suggestions on the Plaza...Fred P. Otts; sports bar, good sangria and great nachos...Jack Stack's for BBQ...Trio Cafe; wonderful atmosphere, outdoor seating, great food and $5 martinis on Wednesdays.
Happy travels! Mike Summers - June 2012:
Did another day-trip to KC for a Royals Baseball game. Kansas City YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=334tcVm7ycU&list=TLqsqbfBNATXk . We got there early enough to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (Websites: http://nlbm.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro_Leagues_Baseball_Museum ). The museum has multi-media computer stations, film exhibits, hundreds of photographs, bronze sculptures, and a growing number of baseball artifacts. The last negro teams folded in the early 1960's. I thought that it was a very informative and interesting place to visit. We also checked out the College Basketball Experience (Website: http://www.collegebasketballexperience.com/ ). The Experience is a high energy, interactive venue where fans of basketball can immerse themselves in the game of college hoops. The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is here where you can learn about great players and coaches. As for the Royals Baseball game (Website: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=kc ), the cheapest seats are $7.00, but Stubhub can be a good place to acquire good seats at a reasonable price. Take a walk around the stadium before the game and visit the Outfield Experience where you'll find the Royals Hall of Fame and the Royals Sports Bar. During weekend games, the Royals stage a Hot Dog Derby at the midpoint of the fourth inning along the first base side.
Enjoy!
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Kansas City, MO Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Kansas_City,_Missouri
Independence, MO Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Independence_(Missouri)
Lawrence, KS Wikitravel Website: http://wikitravel.org/en/Lawrence_(Kansas)
Mike Summers - January 2012:
I decided to give Kansas City a try for a quick day-trip. You need to rent a car (they are not cheap - especially with all the add-on taxes) to get around. I took an initial drive to the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, which is about 50 minutes from the airport. Website:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Kansas . Lawrence has a population of around 82,000. Massachusetts Street is the main street that goes through a nice downtown. There are plenty of places to eat, (Lawrence Restaurants Website: http://www.visitlawrence.com/dining )
along Massachusetts, but I sampled the 23rd Street Brewery (Website: http://www.brew23.com/ ), which had a nice wheat beer, and a solid selection of pub fare. The campus is on the western side of Lawrence (Interactive map: http://www.maps.ku.edu/ ). The Student Union has a nice bookstore with university apparel. From Lawrence I headed back to Kansas City, MO along Interstate 70. Here's two websites for things to do: http://www.visitkc.com/index.aspx and http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g44535-Activities-c5-Kansas_City_Missouri.html in Kansas City. I decided on this day-trip to visit Boulevard Brewing Company and sample an adult beverage (Website:
http://www.boulevard.com/wp-content/themes/boulevard960/ageverify.php?r=http://www.boulevard.com ). If you want a tour they are only conducted on Wednesday through Saturday. Kansas City is famous for its fountains, its museums, and its BBQ. I didn't check out any of these, but the two websites above for things to do also list a variety of BBQ eateries (and others), museums, and locations for fountains. All-in all, it was a nice day trip. The flight is only an hour and a half. The airport is nice. Each airline has their own security entrance and there is a common bus for all rental car companies. Frontier is in the C Terminal.
Enjoy!
Mike Summers
Maryann Hesemann - April 2012:
We just did a girls' trip to Kansas City for 2 nights. We did not rent a car, but rather used the Super Shuttle to get to our hotel located near Country Club Plaza. We paid $39 each way for the 3 of us (total).
The Plaza is one of the oldest shopping centers in the country. It is a beautiful outdoor shopping area, full of mid to high end shopping and lots of great restaurants and fountains galore. Kansas City has more fountains than any city in the world except Rome. Just a couple of blocks north of the Plaza is the Wesport area. This is primarily night life, but also rather charming. Lots of sports bars and young people ( my stomping ground from my early 20's). We also hit Crown Center and the newly renovated Power and Light District. Crown Center has the world headquarters for Hallmark Cards. It has a lot for kids. They just opened a new aquarium this spring and there is a Lego Land Discovery Zone, several theaters, both live and film, geared toward families. There are also a lot of great restaurant choices, several that are really for kids. Crayola has one where the kids can draw while they wait for their food. There is also a railroad themed restaurant that kids would love. Just a block from Crown Center is Union Station. With kids, you could almost spend an entire day here. It is still an active rail terminal, but it also houses theaters, restaurants, the Science Center, a railroad experience, shopping and restaurants. The architecture is beautiful. They are currently hosting a traveling Titanic exhibit.
The Power and Light District is sort of an up and coming mini-LoDo. Mostly bars. Since we were 3 middle aged ladies, we were there early, before things got hopping. We walked from Crown Center to the Power and Light, about a mile. We took a taxi back to our hotel..
Restaurant suggestions on the Plaza...Fred P. Otts; sports bar, good sangria and great nachos...Jack Stack's for BBQ...Trio Cafe; wonderful atmosphere, outdoor seating, great food and $5 martinis on Wednesdays.
Happy travels!
Mike Summers - June 2012:
Did another day-trip to KC for a Royals Baseball game. Kansas City YouTube Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=334tcVm7ycU&list=TLqsqbfBNATXk . We got there early enough to visit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (Websites: http://nlbm.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro_Leagues_Baseball_Museum ). The museum has multi-media computer stations, film exhibits, hundreds of photographs, bronze sculptures, and a growing number of baseball artifacts. The last negro teams folded in the early 1960's. I thought that it was a very informative and interesting place to visit. We also checked out the College Basketball Experience (Website: http://www.collegebasketballexperience.com/ ). The Experience is a high energy, interactive venue where fans of basketball can immerse themselves in the game of college hoops. The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is here where you can learn about great players and coaches. As for the Royals Baseball game (Website: http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=kc ), the cheapest seats are $7.00, but Stubhub can be a good place to acquire good seats at a reasonable price. Take a walk around the stadium before the game and visit the Outfield Experience where you'll find the Royals Hall of Fame and the Royals Sports Bar. During weekend games, the Royals stage a Hot Dog Derby at the midpoint of the fourth inning along the first base side.
Enjoy!
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